Daniel collet



'Patented Peb, 25,1896.v

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

DANIEL COLLEN, OF INVWOOD, CANADA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Lettersy Patent No. 555,364, dated February 25, 1896.

Application filed July 8, 1895. Serial No. 555.259. (No model.)

To all whom. it may concern.:

Be itknown that LDANIEL COLLEN, of Inwood, in the Province of Ontario and Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and Improved Oar-Coupler, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and eiective coupler for freight and passenger cars which will couple automatically, and wherein the weight is greatly reduced relatively to car-couplers of asimilar type.

My invention consists in the combination, with adraw-head and a gravity locking device, of a movable body adapted to support the looking device when the knuckle of the coupler is open, and also adapted to move the knuckle to an open position when the locking device is released from the knuckle.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this speciiication, in which similar characters of reference indicate correspon ding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a partial vertical section and a partial elevation of a coupler embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is a similar view but looking in the opposite direction to that of Fig. l. Fig. 3 isahorizontal section showing the coupler in its open position, and Fig. i is a horizontal section showing the coupler closed.

Referring by letter to the drawings, Adesignates the coupler-head comprising a horn a. at one side and the forwardly-projecting lugs d at the opposite side, and A indicates a swinging knuckle having' the coupling portion a? and a locking-arm CL3 extended substantially at right angles to the part a2. This knuckle is pivoted at its angle portion between the lugs a'. The coupler so far described is similar in form to the knuckle-couplers now in use.

The head A is provided with a chamber d, the lower wall of which is inclined downward and outward, as is plainly shown, and the,

to move by gravity in the line of movement of the locking device and support the same out of contact with the arm a3 of the knuckle, as plainly indicated in Fig. l. This device A3 is preferably of metal and of sufcient weight to swing the knuckle A' when the locking device is raised to its outerloosening position, as shown in Fig. 3.

The opera-tion of the device is as follows: IV hen uncoupling a car, the gravity locking device or pin A2 is raised to release it from engagementwith the front side of the portion a3 of the knuckle, and then the spherical body A3 will roll underneath the locking device and supportthe same in its upper position, and during this movement, by contacting with the inner side portion CL3 of the knuckle, it will swing the said knuckle on its pivot into an unlocked position. In the act of coupling cars the pin A2 will be inserted in the aperture in the top of the drawhead with its lower end resting on the ball A3, as seen in Fig. l, and when the part di of the knuckle A is swungin by its engagement with the coupling on the other car the ball or spherical body will be rolled back into the chamber ai, and then after the portion a3 of the knuckle shall have passed the lower end of the pin A2 the said pin will drop by gravity and engage the frontof said portion a3 of the knuckle and lock the same in position.

It will be seen that I not only provide a very simple device for automatically opening a coupler-knuckle, but also automatically assuming the position to support a gravity locking device.

The part a5 of the wall of the coupler-head A forms a stop to limit the outward movement of the knuckle,and the portion d3 thereof will prevent the accidental removal of the spherical body A3, but said device may be removed by rst removing the knuckle.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a car-coupler, the combination with a head, of a swinging knuckle, a gravity locking device for said knuckle, a spherical body in a chamber formed in the coupler-head and adapted to automatically move beneath the locking device after the same shall have been raised, and also by impinging against the in- ICO side of a portion of the swinging knuckle, to move the said knuckle to an open position, substantially as described.

2. In a car-coupler, the combination of a draw-head having a recess and an aperture in its top to receive a coupling-pin, a knuckle mounted to swing on said draw-head with one end adapted to enter said recess, aball in said recess having means for holding it normally in position to be engaged and moved by contact with said knuckle when the same enters said recess, and a coupling-pin arranged to pass through the aperture in the top of the draw-head, and adapted to lock said knuckle against movement, said pin having its lower end arranged to be engaged and held up out of operative position by said ball when the same is in its normal position, substantially as set forth.

3. In a ear-coupler, the combination of a draw-head having a recess and an aperture in its top to receive a coupling-pin, the bottom of said recess being inclined downward toward the front open end of the draw-head, a knuckle mounted to swing on said draw-head with one end adapted to enter said recess, a ball in said recess adapted to stand normally at the front lower end of the inclined bottom thereof, in position to be engaged and moved up said inclined bottom by contact with said knuckle when the same enters said recess, and a coupling-pin arranged to pass through the apen ture in the top of the draw-head and to lock the knuckle against movement, said pin having its lower end arranged to be engaged and held up out of operative position by said ball when the same is in its normal position, substantially as set forth.

DANEL COLLEN. Titnessesz RosWELL B. WARNER, SMITH A. PRATT. 

